Space Ships Not Considered Historical Landmarks

By Alicia Dorr in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 24, 2006 8:42PM

In the best zing! we’ve seen in awhile, the federal government openly bit its thumb at all the people who thought it would be a good idea to make Soldier Field into a space station.

The astonishing tastelessness of the field’s redesign caused former Interior Department Secretary Gale Norton to strip it of its landmark status. This is bittersweet, of course, because, while it sucks that we lost a historical landmark, we feel somehow vindicated. When politicos in the city followed the mayor’s lead in endorsing the hideous addition to the field we were taken aback, mainly because the design was ugly, ugly, ugly. For years we have been the laughing stock of the NFL—and on top of that we have had to deal with taunts about our modern “Eyesore on the Lakeshore”? Tragic.

We were powerless to stop the horrifying construction, done in the name of “saving” the landmark. But some good came out of it: If any city ever wants to blight another decent historical structure it will have to think twice. Want to turn Buckingham Fountain into a neon-lit swimming pool in order to win the Olympic bid? Think again. Want to turn the Tribune Tower into a giant middle finger? Hell n…Wait, we might be on board for that one.